August 31st, 2017

 

RUPA Members:

 

Today is President Cort’s last day as your RUPA President.  He has served his two year term with professionalism, intergrity, and humor – which you need as a volunteer for an organization like ours!  Thank you Cort for all those earlier years of service which lead up to your term as President!  That is true dedication to our pilot group and we certainly benefitted and appreciate your time and sincere interest!

 

President Cort’s Goodbye Message:

 

The RUPA Board of Directors would like to present the new RUPA Executive Committee for the 2017-19 term. The Board of Directors, by acclamation, has unanimously elected the following per our bylaws:

President Capt. Bob Engelman, Florida Vice President Capt. John Gorczyca, California

Secretary Treasurer Capt. John Rains, Vermont

 

All of you are familiar with Bob Engelman and John Rains who continue on the executive committee. Our new V.P. John Gorczyca came to us with a most impressive resume including a Masters Degree, retired Lt. Colonel USAF serving in Vietnam and later as an Air Force One support pilot, and a member of the Order of Daedaleons. John retired from UAL in 2014 and immediately became involved with RUPA answering the call to form a new RUPA group east of Sacramento, now called the “Goldwingers”. It is arguably one of the most active RUPA groups. John brings to RUPA high energy, volunteer spirit, respect and leadership skills that will assure our continued success into the future. Welcome aboard John!

 

 My term as RUPA President is coming to an end Sept 01 (tomorrow)  and the organization is left in the able hands of the three fine gentlemen above. It has been a true honor,  privilege and pleasure to have manned the helm of RUPA the past 2 years and hopefully it has been left in as good a shape as when it was inherited from predecessor Jon Rowbottom.

 

Thank you all for being loyal RUPA members. You are the lifeblood of our wonderful organization.

 

If you are on this email list and not a member, we encourage you to join at the link below:  www.rupa.org

 

The executive board has asked me to continue as the RUPA Facebook moderator, which was gladly accepted.

 

Hope to see some of you passing in the terminal sometime. Until then, all the best.

 

Warm regards,

Cort Francis V de Peyster

President

Retired United Airlines Pilots Assn.

WWW.RUPA.ORG

 

August 29, 2017

 

RUPA Members:  Harvey Donation Information

From UAL CEO Oscar Munoz:

 

Posted August 27, 2017

 

Dear United family,

 

Since my last note to you yesterday, the impact of Tropical Storm Harvey has continued to devastate communities throughout the Gulf region, especially those around our Houston hub.

 

First, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone threatened and affected.  Specifically, I want every single member of the United family who has been affected to know you are not alone in your time of need.

 

So many of our colleagues across the system have reached out with a simple question: “What can I do?” First, I encourage everyone who is able to donate to our employee relief fund, United We Care. We are all in this together, which is why I will personally match your contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $1 million. So, let’s come together to make sure our friends and colleagues truly feel that the entire United family is behind them.

 

Secondly, peace of mind is just as valuable a resource in times like these. I don’t want any employee worrying about whether his or her family budget will be impacted by the irregular operations. That’s why, given the extended nature and time period of the flooding, we are ensuring that pay will be provided for every scheduled work day that your work facility remains closed as a result of the storm via a modification of the “Adverse Weather Facility Closed” policy.

 

Third, we intend to leverage the full reach and resources of the United network to bring vital relief to affected communities.

 

At this very moment, we are coordinating with the FAA to continue to allow us to operate humanitarian flights into the area in order to deliver essential supplies, including food, water and first aid. We are conducting two humanitarian missions today, which will deliver bottled water and shelf-stable food. With the exception of humanitarian and relief flights, all commercial flights are canceled until noon on August 31.

 

The good news is that the IAH station reports our staff is currently doing well on supplies, however the food and water we’re sending from IAD and ORD will continue throughout the crisis. We are also working with Walgreens and Americares to provide supplementary items, such as medical supplies as well as United amenity kits, blankets, snack items and water.

 

We are also working closely with the Houston Mayor’s office and Emergency Operations to understand how we can be supportive of their efforts to convert the George R. Brown Convention Center into a shelter.

 

All our efforts are being coordinated by a special Harvey response team that we’ve assembled at the NOC Emergency Operations Center in order to concentrate our humanitarian response and recovery plans.

 

We know the crisis is far from over. We will be there every step of the way going forward. And we will remain committed long after the skies clear and the waters recede in order to help our communities rebuild, stronger than ever.

 

Gratefully,

Oscar